Condemnation
by IllusionaryNosebleed
Summary: A despondent fighter is driven to the fringe of suicide after being deserted. He soon learns of an unknown and otherworldly force in his city that might be responsible for his previous suffering. Taking in two lost warriors skeptical of his motive, he attempts to gain their trust and searches for an explanation. Main OC
1. Prologue - Codicil

Prologue - Codicil

* * *

In the empty halls of Ortel Castle, a man in a brown cloak strode through the stone hallways of the hallowed fortress. The lower part of the man's pale face was the only thing that was not covered by the cloak. The torches of the castle barely lit up the dark hallways in the middle of the night. It had been a long time since the heroes of Colhen stormed their way in and crushed the rebellion. The ancient stone golem, Ahglan, was reduced to a single piece of crystal and inscribed rock at the front of the gatehouse. Deceased warriors inside the castle were petrified into stone, littering the hallways with broken limbs and rusted weapons. The petrified leader of the rebellion was laid to rest on a broken fountain in the middle of a courtyard. His two loyal servants suffered worse fates, for parts of their bodies were mutilated and turned into materials for war. Ortel Castle now stood as a brutal reminder for those who wish to rebel against the Pontiff's Court.

The man was now in front of two sturdy wooden doors. Pushing against the metal frame of the doors, the man stepped onto a marble floor of a very cold, dark and drafty room. He closed the doors behind him before he slowly started walking forward. Stone lamps at the corners of the room were lit with a pink flame, barely brightening up the place. The man continued towards a luxurious bed with dark covers. He soon stopped at the foot of the bed, staring at a bloodied human corpse. Gashes and lacerations were slashed into the body's clothes and pale skin as it appeared to be 'violated.' A musky perfume emanated from the corpse itself, masking the smell of dried blood.

The man licked his lips as he brought out his ashy and pastel hands with long fingernails at his sides. Organic, worm-like dark energies began to gather and circle around his hands as he raised them over the corpse. He clasped his hands together, before he merged the energies into a sponge-looking black ball. With a clench of his fist, he unleashed tens of thousands of black and red lines, all condensed into a single beam. The cloak of the man fluttered as the beam continued. They invaded the cadaver in between the bosoms, as the muscles began to squirm little by little. The gashes and lacerations began to sew themselves up, leaving no scars.

"Live, for I am not done with you" rasped the man during his spell. "You will serve me."

Soon, the corpse's eyelids opened. The eyes themselves went from cloudy and scratched into clear and moist with purple irises. The eyes blinked once as color seemed to return to the skin. As it began to become more and more animated, the man stopped channeling the dark energies. It was no longer dead, as it made a smile with its lips.

"You will help me explore a new place; a new world where foolish humans had battled each other with only technology. With their lack of magic, we shall dominate with our own."


	2. Chapter 1 - Conflict

Chapter 1 - Conflict

* * *

On a clear winter midnight, a city had faced a heavy blizzard that left its streets with layers of ice and snow everywhere else. No cars could drive in the perilous streets, making travel by foot the only possible choice. However, the blizzard did not leave the city in a blackout, allowing its inhabitants to use the necessary refrigerators and heaters to survive comfortably. Only nightclubs and homes were to be filled at this time of night as the streets were left devoid of people.

Ever since the blizzard had begun, there have been disappearances of men and sometimes women. The city police tried to investigate the few that were reported by concerned families to no avail; their search would continue again when city conditions become better. The majority of the city did not know about the disappearances, for the people were too concerned of the effects of the blizzard affecting their own lives.

A young man in jeans and a black fleece jacket trudged out into a snowy city street from a restaurant. He was the only person in the street. A chilling wind constantly whispered its presence, brushing up against the man's messy black hair. He looked determined to complete a task that was given to him, but a familiar sadness filled his somber eyes. He suspected himself to be the only man in the city that has experienced the events that transpired in his past, yet he was unaware of the disappearances.

He turned around and saw a dark alleyway with many trash-bags right next to the restaurant, before staggering into it and looking around as if he was being watched. He not only visibly shook from the cold air, but from also the murky and narrow alleyway.

_ I don't know how it's going to end for me, _he thought._ But at least make it so I can expect it._

Soon, the young man found himself at the front of a very old wooden door. He placed his shivering hand on the rusty doorknob, and twisted it to reveal that it was unlocked. He slowly pushed the door into an even darker but bigger room. He strained his eyes in the darkness while stepping on the dusty concrete floor.

He regretted not bringing a flashlight, dreading the inability to see who or what was going to do the dirty job. An imagination of a knife and a bathtub full of steaming water back in his home felt easier to him. The unknown room he entered now felt so unnecessary to him that he shrugged it away despite its suspicious promise. An exasperated sigh showed his desire to turn back, not wanting to suffer any more time.

Just as the young man was going to head out of the room, two mysterious hands emerged from the darkness and grappled the bottom of his legs. With a powerful jerk he tripped, thrashing his chin against the stone floor.

"W-What's going on?!" he screamed while being dragged back into the darkness like a hapless doll. He scrambled against the smooth floor as his chin pinged with pain. He watched the door close on its own, promoting the growing darkness until there was not a ray of light.

Soon, the hands stopped dragging him across the floor. A grip on his body was briefly absent, before an unknown force gripped the cuff of his jacket and dragged him up to a standing position. Wracked with confusion, he darted his eyes everywhere to no avail. No longer feeling the grip of the foreign hands on his cuff, he could hear footsteps receding away from him.

_ Why did he send me here? _He questioned himself.

"I was told that you are a good brawler" said a deep and foreboding voice as it echoed throughout the room. The young man tried to scrutinize the source of the voice, but it seemed to resonate equally within the entire room.

"My informant from the restaurant tells me your name is Ken. Correct?" demanded the voice. The man it was speaking to became infuriated as he immediately regretted venturing into a waste of time.

_ He used me. He fucking used me._ The angered man muttered. _I knew that it seemed too convenient when I talked to him. Now I am going to get…_

"Am I correct?!" boomed the impatient voice, ruining his train of thought. He turned his open hands into fists as he gritted his teeth. He no longer had the desire to die, for he now wanted to fight. He swore to himself to go on a hunt for the one who betrayed him to this unknown man.

"Yes. My name is Ken." He gritted. "What do you want from me?!"

Somewhere in his mind, Ken could feel a smirk forming in the room. He wanted to grind that smirk off with his fist.

"Good. Now do as I say and you get to die quicker. Step forward" ordered the voice.

Ken grimaced a little to himself before he brought his right foot forward. He stepped on a movable object that went from side to side. He could hear cracking noises that resounded throughout the room. Ken lowered his head to attempt to see what he was stepping on.

The hanging fluorescent lights came on in the room to reveal the interior of a large warehouse with a gray cement floor and stone brick walls. Bloodied and mutilated bodies were strewn across the walls. Dried blood streaks streaked across the floor with all leading to where Ken was standing. What Ken had stepped on was the head of a corpse with its neck and bones brutalized. The wounds were not fresh, for the body seemed to remain there for a few days. Ken's face contorted with disgust as he lifted off his foot.

"He wasn't following the rules" said the voice as Ken looked up to see a very large bald man whose muscles were prevalent through his white bloodied shirt.

The supposedly fair brute crossed his arms with impunity. He stood in between a line of men who leered down at Ken on a rusty metal catwalk. A large sliding door that was slightly cracked was present below the catwalk. Ken shivered as he could feel eyes coming from the sliding door observing him.

"He tried to fight dirty with a very nice looking blade," justified the brute.

The bald man raised his hand, which prompted one of the men in the line to bring out the blade in question. Ken stepped back and eyed it as the blade was thrown towards the corpse, impaling right through its chest. The bald man twisted his hand to face a wall already filled with cadavers. The last man on the left of the line of 'henchmen' descended through a set of stairs to the ground and walked towards the skewered cheater. Ken observed the man, noting his large arm muscles and underdeveloped chest as he threw out the blade to the side, picked up the corpse, and threw it towards the wall. It banged against the wall before falling amongst other bodies.

"I want fist fights. That is all I want. Try to use a weapon or other kinds of help and we all will make sure your death is very slow and painful." The brute formed a suspicious grin. "Beat every single man in this line and we'll do whatever you wish, which can include death."

The man who threw the corpse squared up with his fists angled toward his own head at shoulder level. Ken sneered at the positioning of his fists as he began to look at the man's blood-streaked face. Sneering turned to curiosity with a glance at the strange pupils of the henchman.

Ken leaned his face closer to focus on his eyes, whose irises are red with a black center. Already at unease, Ken hesitantly squared up himself, extending his bent arm with the other arm closer to his chest with open hands. He spread out his legs to gain a better center of balance.

"Begin!" thundered the bald man, prompting Ken to tense his upper body muscles. He prepared himself for an almost endless beating that he believed he had to endure.

A reverberating and demonic roar surged out with so much force that a miniscule shockwave blew out from Ken's opponent. Ken staggered back from the shockwave, seeing the henchman spurt into a mad dash towards him with his hands ready to latch onto something.

As soon as Ken regained his balance, he readied himself for the charge. As soon as he was very close, Ken pivoted to one side and dodged the attempted tackle. The man found himself running into a wall, but he bounced back at that instant and charged towards Ken again.

Ken started to run towards the mad man as well. As soon as the two closed their distance, the lunatic leapt off the ground to lunge himself towards his dodger. Ken smirked as he began to crouch and spin with increasing speed.

After a full turn, Ken unleashed a rising uppercut onto his chin. Ken could hear a bone in the mad man's neck crack as he caused him to glance up. However, a devilish grin formed as two strong hands latched onto Ken's uppercut arm. The thumbs with long fingernails dug into Ken's skin, causing blood to slowly bleed out and Ken grimacing in pain. As he was brought to the air, Ken was also forced into a standing position from the grip.

"Get the hell off of me!" cried the grappled Ken.

His opponent proceeded to lock his arm, rendering Ken unable to use his uppercut arm. When he landed back down onto the ground, he stared Ken down with his head continually looking upwards. He sneered wickedly as he brought back his own arm, aiming a punch towards Ken's face.

With his mouth slowly oozing out blood streams, the lunatic brought forward a wild punch at Ken's head. Ken quickly tried to use his other hand to redirect its course towards the ground, but it was merely shoved out of the way as Ken took the hit on the side of his forehead.

His vision quickly blurred as his locked arm was soon released, being dropped to Ken's side as he staggered. Catching sight of another punch headed for his head, Ken ducked down and rolled haphazardly to dodge the incoming attack. He almost lost his balance by almost falling to the ground after his roll.

"Did my punch…even hurt?" muttered Ken.

Ken, delirious, was barely able to stand up and brace himself to face his cackling opponent. He forcibly brought his head down with a resounding cracking of neck bones, disgusting Ken with his power. As Ken's vision cleared up, he saw black vapor exhaled from his adversary's mouth.

"What are you?! There's no way you could have lived from that" yelled Ken, believing that he wasn't facing someone human, rather someone who was able to flinch off a bone breaking uppercut and feel just fine.

"He is one of us" answered the bald man on the balcony. "You too can be like him if you serve us. Puny humans like you have no chance against our kind. But you have potential since you are the first one to break his neck like that. You can have all this power and no one will be able to stand in your way nor will they question you. Retain your human appearance and become a superior race."

Ken hadn't suffered a concussion from the punch he took but he knew that anyone could suffer from it. He wasn't one to believe that being a specific race would determine your strength.

"And what's the name of this so-called superior race?" questioned Ken, not swayed by the tantalizing words of the bald man. He continued to watch the lunatic for any sudden moves, for Ken did not trust the brute's honesty.

"The Fomors" replied the bald man with pride. "The one you are struggling against is our newest initiate. He bravely fought against me and answered my call. And in return, I gave him enough to overpower your weak kind."

Ken's opponent nodded as he continued to smirk evilly at the narrow-eyed Ken. He scorned the name of the one who brought him into a recruitment ambush in the guise of euthanasia. Ken had no desire to gain power for he had no need of it. He just wanted to be out of the living world quickly and quietly; a task that could have been easily done in his home.

"Now, will you join us? Or do you wish to die? I can't promise it will be fast, for your opponent likes to take his time" asked the bald man, before crossing his arms again.

"I choose to die" snarled Ken, displeasing the bald man and his subordinates.

"So be it. Zann, knock him out after your fun with him is done. We'll turn him into a Fomor," ordered the bald man, contorting Ken's face in anger and making him turn towards the bald man.

"You said that I can die. Why won't you give me that chance?" yelled the cheated Ken.

"Because you are the best kind of recruit; you are unafraid to embrace death. What more could I ask for? I simply won't let you die that easily" answered the bald man, eagerly eying his possible new initiate.

"Then I'll make sure to kill you all myself before that happens" grimaced Ken, prompting the bald man to cackle.

Having experienced the punch from a Fomor, Ken knew that he would lose if he approached with a bare fist strategy. He knew he needed to wield a weapon of some kind that would kill him easily. With that in mind, Ken eyed the discarded blade near him while Zann primed himself for another charge.

Ken feinted, making it look like he was going to fight his adversary head on. He caused his opponent to beam at him with bloodied teeth. He enthusiastically ran towards Ken with a demonic gait, having his arms outstretched again.

Ken likened Zann to a bull running towards a red cape. His legs fidgeted as he invited a curious look from the leader of the henchmen.

As soon as the distance between them was small, Ken rolled to where the blade was while dodging the grab. As Zann began to turn back around, the bald man widened his eyes as he discovered Ken's plan of action.

"No! You fool! Stop!" quickly ordered the bald man while the rest of his men looked panicked and worried. But unfortunately, the newest initiate ignored his superior's orders and continued building up speed towards Ken. His face was lavished with the same evil smile and squinted eyes as he lunged himself again towards Ken. Ken quickly took up the blade with both hands before he made a thrust towards the head of the newest initiate.

The two forces collided, as the blade stabbed cleanly through Zann's head. However, Ken was pushed back to the ground through the momentum built up by the charge. He looked down to see the initiate dead on his legs and spilling fresh blood onto the cement floor through his mouth. A large sigh of relief escaped his mouth.

"Kill him!" boomed the bald man, shakily jabbing his left hand finger at Ken before sending the men to his right to go after him with frantic right hand motions. The men on his right did as he asked and vaulted over the balcony to the ground.

Ken welcomed his impending lynching as he sat back with his hands behind his back while stuck under a dead body. He gazed into the many men landing on the ground, whose murderous glares were soon facing him. This was the final part of his plan, to enrage the leader and get himself killed. A bittersweet happiness pulsed through his body, as he was ready to rise out of the unforgiving world.

"Now!" A young female voice resonated throughout the warehouse. The door below the balcony was knocked open, before a large metal pipe came out of it towards the men landing on the ground. The pipe knocked into them with such force that it caused some of them to fall over, with the rest of the confused men gaping at their fallen companions._  
_ Two females charged out into the warehouse. One of the two wore a metallic jacket with a little knapsack on the back with a very short skirt and long boots. She wielded a claw hammer in one hand and a trashcan lid as a shield. With her blonde hair tied up in a voluminous ponytail, she looked like she was ready to raid an island.

The other female wielded a wooden stave with both hands while wearing a black metallic girdle with a furry scarf, a matching metallic skirt with large feathers on one side, and black booties with very long red stockings. With her black long straight bangs, she looked ready to hit some birds and break off their feathers.

Ken's mind was not occupied on the fact that his plan was foiled, but rather on the appearance of the two foreign-looking warriors. It was when he saw their seemingly unfounded wrath upon the henchmen that he wondered:

_Are they saving me?_


	3. Chapter 2 - Confrontation

Chapter 2 - Confrontation

Ken watched in amazement at the two warriors that ambushed his bare-fisted executioners from afar. He eyed every single fluid motion, every stagger from a blow, and every person that fell onto the ground. They were wiping out the henchmen sent out to destroy a self-destructive man. Ken stopped speculating why they seemed to be protecting him, but rather how easily they took on the former humans.

There was not a parried, blocked, or countered strike in sight. The woman with the claw hammer and shield swung her armaments with precise and deadly force. Ken watched her uppercut one of the henchmen into the air. She then followed up with a rapid hammer strike to the chest, sending the henchman in the air propelling away from the fight. Ken drew his eyes to the other woman battling with a wooden staff. She stroked the air multiple times, inviting sneers and laughter from some of the henchmen crowding around her. As soon as the woman stopped swinging in the air with her staff, she appeared out of breath. Ken gazed and frowned upon her tiredness, as the henchmen soon charged at her.

_ She's a goner, _concluded Ken.

The woman broke out of her exhaustion. She twirled her body forward, spinning her staff with both hands to build up momentum. The end of the pirouette brought an overhead spinning strike so fluid that it looked like it did not even touch the henchmen. The ghostly staff knocked out the charging henchmen onto their backs, leaving the staff woman smiling and panting in her newfound breathing space.

_ How did she move that club so fast? _questioned Ken with his forehead wrinkled, wondering at the woman's unknown combat prowess. He felt even more uneasy than before he fought his one and only opponent in the warehouse. The two women by themselves could easily handle a mob of inhumanly strong people, to which Ken found disconcerting. He looked down at the blade jabbed partly inside his dead foe.

He suddenly felt separated from the whole situation. Everyone in the warehouse was focused on the two brawling females. But Ken, the murderer of their newest initiate, was no longer prioritized as a target. He looked at the bald man, constantly glaring at the two women bashing his men and sending more after them. No longer enraptured by the skills of the two females, Ken remembered his purpose of being in the warehouse.

Ken darted his eyes towards the entrance to the warehouse. Ken envisioned himself sprinting out of the warehouse, the entire area, and eventually his life altogether. He could keep running with the assurance that the attention was away from him; he could finally escape.

Yet, Ken still stayed behind. His eyes wandered back to the two women holding their own against multiple people. He found himself wanting to join back into the fray. He wanted to find out why they saved him. His mind battled between two devils, where one led to certain death and the other an unknown course. Ken was afraid of the latter, feeling repulsed by the risks of going deeper into someone else's story. Despite their prowess, he would never know what happened to them if he immediately left.

Ken's dilemma had enraptured him until a loud diabolical roar broke through his trance. His vision focused again on the two fighters surrounded by rings of unconscious henchmen; it was a sight that he could not comprehend. The woman with the shield stared up at the source of the roar with a discerning and narrow-eyed glare; the woman with the staff had her shoulders slumped accompanied with heavy and fast breathing as she gazed up.

An empty syringe from the balcony was thrown towards the drained staff woman, who tried to dodge backwards but was pelted on the leg by the plastic tube of it. She tripped over an unconscious henchman before falling to the ground.

As she braced herself back up, a loud crash vibrated through the warehouse. Ken stared with wide eyes at the landing. A hulking human mass of monstrosity with exaggerated muscular veins strewn across its body rose up to orient itself towards the staff woman. He held his hands outward before he charged towards the woman with demonic speed.

The woman with the staff sidestepped out of the way, before hastily dragging her feet to the woman with the shield and hammer. What used to be the bald man ran a wide arc before heading towards the two, running past Ken on the floor. After feeling the wind the brute generated with his speed, an impulse surged through Ken's body such that it energized him for action. He grappled the handle of the blade and kicked off the corpse of his former adversary. Drawing a large breath, he dashed towards the monster.

The shield woman braced herself for the impending impact, going into a crouching position with her shield slightly facing upwards. The staff woman tapped her foot to the side, ready to dodge again. The bald man knocked into the shield with his fist, sending its wielder backwards many feet. The staff woman was able to escape the brute by hopping backwards.

The shield woman was barely able to not fall over from the blow as she had her shield scraping against the ground. Pushing against the ground with her feet, the woman explosively leapt off the ground before charging towards the bald man with her shield in front. As soon as the shield woman closed enough distance, he spun with his fists outward, knocking away the shield and its momentum behind it. The woman attempted to strike his very muscular chest, but the monster reacted with a punch to the gut. Feeling suddenly winded and dropping her hammer, the woman lurched backwards. The brute grabbed her by the neck and held her up.

"Fiona!" cried the staff woman, prompting the shield-less woman to glance at her before looking at the bald man.

"I thought you would be tougher. I did not think you would be this stupid even from when we got-"

A loud cry interrupted the bald man's twisted and dark voice. A twinkling gleam with fresh blood on the edge shone through the air with its malicious intent. The shield-less woman, Fiona, and the staff woman watched the blade start to fall onto its target.

The grip on Fiona's neck tightened before it dragged her through the air to become a new target for the seemingly unavoidable blade. The bald man smirked at the wielder of the blade with his new human shield. Ken and Fiona gasped as both stared at each other with wide eyes.

Just as the blade was about to reach the face of Fiona, it was forcibly taken from Ken's hand. The blade flew around the bald man as if it had a mind of its own. The staff woman waved her fingers, engrossed in her focus on the monstrosity. With a sudden swipe in the air with her hand, the blade maneuvered its way into the bald man's neck.

The sudden piercing shocked the bald man, dropping Fiona at his feet as Ken fell alongside her. Fiona scurried away to her weapon while Ken looked up at where the blade was. He glanced back to his empty hands, drawing his eyebrows together; the bloodshed was not on his hands nor was he able to control it, yet it was able to hit its intended target.

Ken looked around for any sign of Fiona, with her figure obscured by the size of the monster. Upon hearing approaching footsteps, he rolled away from the bald man. The monster's face turned into a shade of blue with blood squeezing out of the space between steel and skin.

Fiona reunited with her hammer and shield before rushing towards the staggering bald man from behind. With a bash of the trashcan lid, the bald man lurched forward into the ground with a resounding thud. It caused the blade to draw even further into the neck, even jutting out on the other side.

Fiona positioned herself beside the bald man's head. Gurgling sounds and squirming muscles indicated that he was still alive. With a slight pause, Fiona brought the hammer in a half-circle arc to pulverize the leader of the henchmen's head. He immediately stopped moving, becoming the last person in the warehouse to bloody it.

_ That brute is finally dead, _thought Ken._ I'm alive. I am alive. I'm...alive._

Ken, sitting on the ground, felt directionless as he looked at the transformed liar that promised him death. A bleak look was drawn on his face, again remembering his true purpose for coming to the warehouse. A simple trap where muggers could have jumped Ken in the dark sounded better to him than a recruitment bloodbath. The thought of his forgotten body in a gutter sounded appealing to him.

He gazed at the Fiona, inspecting the body of the bald man. Ken's chest suddenly felt clenched, and the sound of a door closed shut wracked his mind. He loathed himself for being alive, for being lucky to receive help from the two strong women. If not for his luck, then he blamed divine intervention for showing him his weakness compared to the two.

_ I couldn't stop her, _rambled Ken in his head._ I couldn't stop my parents. I'm the forgettable one._

Before Ken went deeper into his depression, a hand was brought out in front of him. His blank stare became focused onto the hand that urged him to get up. He reluctantly brought his hand out and grabbed hold to it, bringing himself up. He looked down, not wanting to see the face of either woman that saved his life.

"Thank you," said a breathy, but spritely voice. Ken looked up with his eyebrows perked upwards to see the staff woman's face, soiled with sweat and loose strands of hair. She differed from Ken's melancholy mood with a content and cheerful smile. Ken felt uncomfortable with the contrast between the two, averting his eyes away from her happy face. Nevertheless, he felt curious as to why he was being thanked when he almost killed her friend.

"Why thank me? I almost killed your friend," Ken's eyes wandered to the investigating Fiona. She looked withdrawn, focusing on every pocket and exposed skin her eyes could see.

"No, you saved her," disagreed the staff woman.

Ken's thoughts froze. "How?"

The staff woman pointed towards the blade in the corpse's neck. "You helped us take him down."_  
_Ken's mind raced for rational reasons as he stared at the blade. It confounded him earlier that it somehow stabbed itself into the giant's neck, and now he saved Fiona with it too?

"Ooh, maybe this will help. Fiona, can I borrow your hammer?" Fiona still faced the corpse while tossing her hammer towards the staff woman. With a wave of the staff woman's palm, the hammer stopped midflight. Ken now believed his brain stopped working despite wanting to question the abilities of the staff woman.

He stared at the floating hammer. Fingers of a certain hand waved through the air, making the hammer glide towards Ken's bulging eyes. With a slow and downward palm motion, the hammer tapped his forehead three times.

Ken covered his forehead and glared towards the giggling staff woman, who dropped the hammer down to the ground. A twinge of exasperation was apparent in his eyes; he didn't believe it was funny to be used as amusement, just like how the bald man wanted to use him.  
"I'm sorry." The staff woman stifled her giggle enough to talk properly. "I just find it pleasing to be able to do a lot more than I thought of. To think I only have this now."

Ken glared at the staff woman entertaining herself with the levitating hammer circling around her. Her constant waving of her annoying finger gave Ken a headache. He could not tell if the staff woman was being condescending to him, but she was certainly flaunting her power. Ken had enough of being showed that he was lacking in strength or abilities. He even suspected the staff woman to be a Fomor, for they all seemed to like displaying themselves proudly.

Ken accused her of interrupting his death. The plan of escape foiled with all of the blame placed on the heroes that thought they could make a difference in someone's life. She never felt the hidden pain that Ken had kept away; how it ate away from him as he tried to live on forgetfully in an unforgiving world. He was ready to direct all of the pain he felt onto the staff woman.

"Why did you come and save me?" asked Ken. He grabbed the hammer while it was in flight and threw it down towards the ground with all of his might. The large bang that reverberated throughout the warehouse made the staff woman jump with the waving of her finger ceased; it even attracted the attention of Fiona, who could see anger coursing through Ken's body. With a stiffening of her face, the staff woman finally faced Ken.

"We need your help."

"Shut up. I don't think you need my help at all. If you can do so much with that, then why should I even bother?" growled Ken.

"But the situation is-"

"No! You haven't been paying attention to before, have you?"

The staff woman winced at his sharp words. Ken was not willing to let up on his anger; he wanted the staff woman to be punished for not being aware of his plan before their own intrusion.

"You're a big girl. You can handle being out there alone. Or better yet, why don't you just go back home?"

"We-"

"I'm done," interjected Ken. "Actually, I was supposed to be done. But you two had to be heroes. You can be a hero to me right now by doing this."

Ken turned away from the trembling staff woman. "Kill me. Or do you wish to turn me into-"

"We can't get home." A meek voice rose out of the sniffing staff woman.

Her words cut down Ken's tirade so suddenly that he gasped from hearing such a soft voice.

"We saved you because we needed a home."

The staff woman's words caused Ken's chest to clench even further. The air grew heavier, making it harder for him to breathe.

_ Home? _wondered Ken. _ How? Even she probably has a home by now._

"I guess we can't stay with you anymore. We'll leave you since you can't bear to be with us." With her bleak optimism, the staff woman averted her eyes away from the sight of Ken with dull and wet eyes.

"We'll live on and find them."

The last statement of the staff woman echoed in Ken's head. His mind racked with images of a girl that was dear to him. The sound of the door shutting was again repeated, causing him to sniffle and rub his eyes.

_I will live on and find them. That's what she said before she left, _remembered Ken.

Ken no longer wanted to end himself, but he instead felt lost. He knew that if he went back to his home now, he would be haunted with memories of his past. He would visualize them in his head repeatedly. And yet, running away from it did not seem to be viable anymore. Ken chastised himself for being unable to do anything, as if he couldn't do anything right.

He turned back to face the staff woman again, who continued to look away with drooped down hair and expression alike. His chest wrenched even more when he felt the cold yet pleading gaze of Fiona upon him.

Ken had forgotten that Fiona and the staff woman had battled through many men just for his help. He wanted to kick himself for slashing their hopes when it was all over.

_ Maybe…it's not too late, _thought Ken.

"Hey…" Ken choked on his voice.

It gnawed at Ken to see the staff woman wince and continue to look away from him. Ken tried to reach his hand out to her but she turned away from it. The brief burst of optimism that Ken had turned into something much darker.

A mirror image of the girl in his head manifested herself as the staff woman before him. Ken shook his head many times, feeling the world slow down as he continued to look at her.

He dropped down his hand as he heard the door again. He averted his eyes towards the woman who had been watching his emotional spat the whole time.

"I…" Ken stopped as he thought about the staff woman being synonymous with the girl in his head. Fiona saw his desire to disappear away through his shrunken eyes; she nodded at Ken, hoping it would encourage him to go on.

"I changed my mind. You two can stay with me for..." Fiona kept nodding at Ken as the staff woman peeked at him from her turned stance. "For as long as you all need."

Ken exhaled a long breath, seeing Fiona smile before turning back to the corpse. He gulped before he glanced at the staff woman, who quickly turned away from his vision. She blinked her eyes multiple times before she turned her face towards Ken. Her lips formed a smile yet her vision was towards the ground and her arms were crossed. Ken gulped as he recognized the posture that the staff woman took. She was all too similar to her as the shivering lips began to move.

"Thank you for reconsidering us." The staff woman brought up the courage to look at Ken's eyes and tried to look satisfied.

Ken regretfully was able to see through her strained grin. He wished to himself that it was genuine, but it did not feel the same as when she toyed with him.

He nodded, trying his best to crack a smile as well. "What is your name?"

"I am Evie. And she is Fiona." The staff woman barely raised her finger to point at Fiona, who held a syringe in her hand.

"My name is Ken. I hope Fiona will be alright walking out in the cold," joked Ken, before sighing upon hearing a forced laugh from Evie. He disliked the cold exterior that she put on, for he personally could not stand it.

_ Maybe if we get out of here, maybe they'll get better, _muttered Ken.

"Fiona. Evie." shouted Ken. When Fiona looked at Ken to give him his attention, he felt more comforted to see Fiona's almost curious expression, especially when he hurt her friend. "Let's get back to my place. It's only about a couple of blocks away."

He waited for Fiona, who stood up with the syringe and walked towards Ken. He glanced at Evie, who looked past him towards the door he came through. He turned back with a sigh and walked towards the same door with the other two following. Fiona continued to focus on the syringe on her hand, while Evie picked up the hammer and stared at it.

Ken pleaded to himself, hoping that things would get better.


	4. Chapter 3 - Communion

Chapter 3 - Communion

They were out of the warehouse; a place filled with so much evil that the remains of the bloodbath were lined up against the wall or strewn across the red streaked floor. Strangely, the remnants remained almost perfectly preserved save for the wounds and dried blood. At one point, it annoyed Ken how he never smelled the carcasses. Perhaps there was a larger force at work, masking even the building away from the public.

Ken decided to maintain its secrecy, as he had found the light switch to the warehouse right beside the door and made it pitch black again. He never saw the effects of doing so despite the newfound darkness, as it made Evie and Fiona crash into a wall of alertness and anticipation before they regained their composure outside of the forsaken pit.

Ken felt pain in his chest when he looked at Evie. He was willing to leave behind the emotional spat he gave Evie, but he felt that now she had to keep her distance.

They trudged through the alleyway as the three watched their footing around the numerous black trash-bags. Fiona and Evie were particularly focused on the ground to make sure that they do not trip over the foreign objects. Ken wondered if there was a lazy sanitation worker, or the possible fact that there were more bodies than the ones in the warehouse.

His memory drew back to before he went into the warehouse. He remembered a suggestion that paired him up with two lost women with a bad start. A muscular man observing from a table popped up in his head. Ken recognized him as the one who sent him into the warehouse to become a freak of nature. A desire to hunt him grew as he stepped out into the open snowy turned to his left and squinted into the dark interior of the restaurant that he formerly worked in. He made a seething noise through his teeth, indicating his displeasure.

As he turned back around, he saw both faces engaged in looking around their new and open surroundings with awe. Evie spun in place with a gaping mouth as she eyed the empty family stores and restaurants. Steaming pies, delectable cakes, and fresh red apples garnished the stores. They contrasted with the bright and explicit neon signs of the visible nightclubs. Even the skyscrapers catered to her wandering eye. Fiona was also preoccupied observing, particularly focusing her vision at the large and snowy park opposite of the sidewalk they were on. She was so focused that she did not care about her legs being swarmed by the shivering wind.

_Have they never been in a city before? _Thought Ken._ Their clothes do look like they came out of the wilderness_

Ken looked at Evie. A wave of warming happiness radiated from her as it made Ken grow a natural grin, unlike his original desire to kill himself.

He stood still as his focus on Evie put him increasingly more at ease, as he already forgotten why he yelled at her. A blast of a cold wind gushed through his jacket and snapped him out of his trance, making him almost buckle from the piercing temperature. He even saw Fiona's legs quaking and her choppy breath seething through her teeth. Ken's resolve to return to a warm place was strengthened.

Ken eyed the large street layered with ice. From baby steps to long strides, he slid on his feet across the street towards the park. Fiona raised her eyebrows at his sauntering. Placing the syringe into the knapsack she carried, she tilted her body closer to the icy layer of the street.

Her eyes drew across from her position to the park as she curved her body back up. Nudging the engrossed Evie, she pointed towards the park before she took her first steps on the street as carefully as she could. She looked at Ken again in disbelief as she had trouble grasping on how exactly Ken glided across the ice. She even attempted to hasten her own crossing when she widened her eyes at Evie speeding past her across the street.

Evie's eyes were struck in a daze. She flapped her arms haphazardly, dropping Fiona's hammer along the way as she gained closer to the curb of the white sidewalk. At the foot of the open gated entrance into the park, Ken finally turned around to witness a girl falling to his feet into the snow. Realizing it was Evie; Ken seized the opportunity to hold out his hand towards the girl trying to get back to her feet. With her hair covering most of her vision, she took the hand as soon as she saw it. She blew her hair out of the way to see a Ken nodding at her.

With a silent gasp, she averted her vision away towards Fiona, who arrived at the curb with her hammer. Evie did not want to look at Ken, but she certainly didn't enjoy the tsk-tsk from her proud companion.

"This way," said Ken before he strode into the park ahead of the two. Having his hands deep in his jacket pockets, Ken was more intent on getting into his warm home now than worrying about Evie or Fiona. The two soon followed behind him, not wanting to get lost in a vast unknown place.

They walked on a winding brick path surrounded by trees that could easily hide the skyscrapers of the city. Pole lamps were spotted along the path to carry the three through the darkness of the forest; they piqued Evie as she saw how the light emanating from the lamps remained still. There was neither a flicker nor a shadow that Evie could see in the seemingly perfect lamps, as if an eternal candle continued to burn in each lamp for the rest of time. After walking across a paved bridge with arched stone, they soon came to a large frozen lake surrounded by a metal fence. There was a little spigot in the middle of the lake that failed to spit out water. The path curved around the lake as they made their way beside the metal fence.

* * *

There was a little and vacant wooden shack beside the lake that distributed maps and free cups of water to park visitors. Both Fiona and Evie stopped to look inside the shack, seeing only bent plastic cups, an empty office water cooler, a wooden stool, and ripped pieces of a map. Ken continued his trek back home. He was unaware of the two staying behind for now.

"Fiona."

Fiona responded at the whisper of her name with a questioning look at Evie, who casted her drooped eyes at the water cooler. Evie's hands trembled in the cold air as her fingers fiddled with each other.

"Is there really no one else?"

Fiona shrugged in response, secretly knowing the unease that Evie felt. She brought her hand over to her back, only to stop a centimeter away. She left her hand to fall after a few seconds, only to raise it again. Fiona looked down at her own boots, curling her toes inside and mumbling to herself.

"Treat him like our new leader." Evie would rarely hear the deep but pleasant voice of the woman that would always keep to herself during their time together. She never questioned her silent nature. Evie smiled to herself, feeling a pat on her back before Fiona turned away from her and scuffed her feet towards the direction that Ken went.

Evie heard the footsteps receding away. A turn of her head spotted Fiona's disappearance into the trees on the path. Evie followed Fiona into the trees, giving off a resigned sigh. She never realized that Fiona had been staring into her hesitative and shaky hand until she caught up with her.

* * *

The two managed to get back to Ken just in time for him to look over his shoulder. He nodded to himself, confirming their appearance. The three walked as they could see the city beginning to reveal itself. Skyscrapers soon dominated the sky once again.

"We're getting close. Don't freeze to death before we get there." Ken joked as they walked out into the sidewalk of a city street. An unknown surge of confidence filled his body. His mindset became more positive as he began to plan out his future with them, noting that he should be able to lodge them for a while.

_If they're here to beat up more of those uhh…Fomors, then maybe…I can forget about her, _thought Ken.

Ken immediately thought of the girl in his head, before he visualized Evie. His chest pinched at him again as he craned his neck to check on Evie. He saw her looking away, observing the lingerie shop to her left. Ken felt uplifted when she did not notice him. The pain in his chest dissipated as he turned back his head forward.

_I guess not, _thought Ken as he sighed._ As long as she's there, I'll remember her. But she hasn't gone away from me yet._

Ken stopped in front of a large building, and turned around to face Fiona and Evie. He wanted to gauge their reactions as they looked at him; Evie flashed her most polite smile while Fiona scratched her head.

"This is where I live," Ken pointed at the building right beside them, prompting them to gaze in wonder of their new home, a brown high-rise apartment complex reaching up to 24 floors. A bright sign on the building dubbed it _Berry Towers_.

Evie stared up at the numerous balconies of the complex in awe. Ken felt his lips instinctively forming a large grin. He never thought that he would be acknowledged for living in a low-rent flat.

"I live on the 15th floor to be exact," said Ken, looking at Evie's eyes widening. "Let's go ahead in since uhh…"

A certain woman continued to have her body quake in the freezing air as two pairs of eyes glanced towards her. She shrugged nonchalantly, causing Ken and Evie to smirk and giggle respectively.

_I'm impressed, _thought Ken._ You've been out for this long while showing so much skin._

Ken brought his attention to the entrance of the apartment complex, which was a set of glass doors with no handles. He fumbled around in his pockets, before he pulled out a white card with a single red stripe.

"Alright, let's get in!" Ken walked towards the double doors, which opened automatically for him to pass through into a dim lobby.

"What magic is this…" mumbled Evie under her breath as she stared at the two automatic doors closing after Ken passed through them. Even Fiona extended her neck to inspect the doors. Ken motioned for the two to come inside. The two took careful steps, waiting for the door to open on its own. Ken shook his head when he saw Evie and Fiona flinch backwards when the doors opened.

On his right, Ken eyed a young woman asleep on her arms atop a long wooden lobby desk, recognizing her as Mrs. Sanatee. She was a receptionist of the complex around his age who would always greet him whenever she saw him. Ken remembered having enjoyable conversations with her whenever she was free from work despite not knowing her personally. He glanced at the clock above her, which showed the time to be almost an hour past midnight.

_It's really late now, huh? It feels weird being in the lobby this dark, _remarked Ken in his head._ Too strange…what is that?_

There was a robed figure sitting in a waiting room across the lobby desk. Then he was gone in a flash. Ken was the only one who saw him as he glanced at the unaware Evie and Fiona observed two identical metallic doors with buttons beside them. Ken felt a shiver that did not belong to the piercing wind outside of the apartment. He wanted to hurry to the elevator before more suspicious things happened.

Ken whispered, "Alright, let's go."

He power-walked to one of the metallic doors while making glances to any single dark shadow that he could be unaware of. Fiona noted his alarmed state, also keeping a careful eye out.

He pressed the up button next to the elevator, almost cursing to himself when he noticed that the lift was at the 13th floor. He turned around, watching his surroundings for any possible movement while Fiona and Evie watched the green numbers above the elevator glow one by one.

_Come on out. Don't hide, _mumbled Ken to himself._ I just killed someone whose muscles would make anyone with steroids dream. And I'm with two deceptively scary women. I'm not afraid._

Muscles went stiff in the three when the elevator announced its arrival. The metallic door opened with no one inside, revealing a small and brightly lit room. Ken secretly thanked an imaginary higher being as he walked in. When he turned around, he saw the uncertainty in the two women on whether or not to enter.

"This is an elevator. We'll be going up. There's nothing to worry about," reassured Ken as he gestured in the two women. They watched him casually pressing the button to the 15th floor. He glanced outside of the elevator and leaned his body outwards. He was still suspicious.

A very small shadow leaped in the dark. A finger jammed a button of the elevator as hard and fast as it could, prompting the comparatively slow door to close. Prying and horrified gazes ensued. The target of those gazes sighed with relief. _  
_"Why are we he-," Evie squealed on the e when the elevator lurched upwards. Fiona and Evie braced their weapons while staring intently at Ken. It did not feel natural for the two to be in a tightly cramped space for so long, especially with a stranger that they do not know very well. Ken wrinkled his brow at their defensiveness.

A hammer banged against the floor. Fiona felt her stomach roll with unease as she covered her mouth. Evie gasped when she saw Fiona drop to the ground weakened and gagging before bringing her harried and skeptical glare to Ken. She kept making quick glances at Fiona to keep track of her.

_Some people do get sick in elevators! Don't make it look like it's my fault! _Exclaimed Ken in his head.

Ken made an exasperated sigh, before he looked up at the floor indicator. It brightened his face to see that he was at the 12th floor as he positioned himself at the door.

Ding!

The elevator came to a halt, with the symptoms of a nauseous Fiona going away. The metallic door opened to reveal a hallway adorned with blue wall lamps, large pane windows, and dark wooden doors with fisheye glass peepholes. Ken walked out of the elevator and continued down the hall to a wooden door.

Fiona and Evie were recovering from their elevator episode when the doors started to close on its own. They panicked as they wasted no time in rushing out of the cramped and scary room, with Fiona diving out of the small opening after retrieving her hammer. They brought their attention to a window, gazing down at the dark city through one of the windows in the hallways. They looked down upon the people coming out of the late-night clubs as if the two were gods.

Ken leaned against his door, maneuvering his key card around his fingers. A slackened smile found its way into Ken's lips. He imagined the girl in his mind pressing her hand against the window with longing eyes. Ken compared Evie to the girl in his head again. He wondered how it would be possible to forget with the presence of Evie. Ken caught himself when he was almost enraptured by her, noting that they can stare out of the windows he has in his apartment.

"Hey you two, over here" ordered Ken. Fiona was the first to come, eying the dexterity of Ken's hand with the key card. Evie took as much time as possible to look out of the window while she departed towards Ken.

"Home Sweet Home," sung Ken as he inserted the key card into his locked door handle. With a twist of the door handle and the flipping of switches, another foreign place was present to the two.

The apartment consisted of only two rooms, big enough for a family up to six to live in. The room they came into was a spacious combination of the kitchen and the living room while the other was a large bathroom. The door to the apartment is in the space between the eating counter of the kitchen and a recliner leather couch while the door to the bathroom was in the kitchen. The place was somewhat messy, as sweatpants and a sweater were found on the floor. Fiona and Evie placed their weapons on the wall next to the door, becoming more cautious of Ken walking away from them.

Fiona took an interest in the kitchen side of the room, seeing a strange contraption that was the sink. Evie followed her; she would rather tag along with a person that she battled with many times than a man who shut down her glee.

Ken plopped down on a leather couch complete with pillows, taking off his jacket. He hefted a black duffel bag on the wooden coffee table in front of him. He became satisfied when the bag felt heavy and full. He noted to himself that the contents of the bag could sustain living with those two.

Ken heard a brandishing of a blade in the kitchen. It wasn't the first time that he stared at the two for their simplicity; but it was entirely different to see them fingering with steak knives with wonder and suspicion.

_I have never seen a girl take a steak knife from the sink and thumb it around like a shiv,_ thought Ken, sighing._ Rest is definitely in order for tonight._

It took Ken a while to lasso the two onto the couch, which only set their new object of interest upon a large CRT television set, seeing their reflections on the screen. It became so much trouble for those two that Ken did not feel like changing his clothes as well.

With his foot, Ken tapped a button on the couch to turn it into a makeshift bed, before he threw light blankets at the two from the armoire. After grabbing a blanket for himself, he smiled at the two that are already comfortable on their new bed. Endearing smiles were seen on both Fiona and Ken as they both looked down at the already sleeping Evie. Her beauty could enchant anyone to the point of wanting to touch her adorable face.

With a flip of the light switches, the room was only illuminated by a glass door that led to a small balcony. There were glass windows beside the door, but they were covered by blinds. Fiona took it as a signal to lie down right beside Evie with her body facing her back and closed her eyes.

Ken sat on a leather recliner seat closer to the television, pushing it back with a lever on the side. He threw the blanket he had all over himself and closed his eyes. He occupied his mind with the girl again. He imagined her pressing her hand against a glass window and gazing out into the horizon of the city. His thoughts raced with the intent to find her as if it was his mission, only to know that she could be anywhere in the city or out of it.

Ken knew full well that it was these thoughts that drove him to a certain act of desperation. But then he thought of Evie. He took comfort in knowing that he had her living in his home as if she was the girl in his head. These thoughts faded away as Ken drifted into slumber. Everyone was now asleep in the apartment, failing to notice a mysterious white-robed figure at the glass door.


End file.
